Twist counter



SCOTT TWI ST COUNTER 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec.

V INVENTOR.

Maag/Tiff @1f ATTORNEYS.

Amin M9 ma@ pl M9 N360 J. M; SCOTT TWIST COUNTER Filed Dec. 6, 1953 www 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TWIST COUNTER Rhode Island Application December 6, 1933, Serial No. 701,245

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the analysis of a cord; and has for one of its objects the untwisting of several plies of a cord while maintaining one of the plies in the condition that it was in before untwisting so that it will be in a condition for better and truer observation, or as a 'basis for further analysis.

Another object of the invention is the counting of the twists in a plurality of plies of cord and at the same time maintaining one of these plies in the condition that it was originally in the cord for further analysis.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus in which the opposite ends of a cord composed of several plies may be held and both ends of the cord rotated while holding some of the plies of the cord to untwist those rotated therefrom and the provision of means for counting the number of rotations to obtain the desired number of twists.

A further object of the invention is the maintaining of an even tension on the cord at all times notwithstanding its elongation due to the untwisting action.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for enlarging the visual appearance of the cord so that the condition of the same may be better observed.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of my improved twist counter.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 illustrates a cord as held between the two jaws of the heads with two of the three plies cut and in position to be held by one hand of the operator while rotating the heads for untwisting the same.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of four of the five singles of a thread cut to be held while rotation is imparted to the heads while untwisting the same Fig. 5 is a sectional View on line 5 3 of Fig. 2

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line of Fig. 2

Fig. '7 is a detailed View of the counter showing in dotted lines the means for holding the same in position.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view thru one of the gripping jaws.

In the making of certain fabrics, particularly tire fabrics, it is necessary to know exactly the number of twists in any cord used, in order that the fabric may be made to balance and have the desired properties such as laying flat, etc., and in order to accomplish this it is necessary to know very accurately the twist per linear foot or other unit of length which any given cord contains.

The conventional tire cord is usually made up of three plies with five single threads in each ply and in order to determine the number of twists, per foot, it has been usual to untwist the cord by hand holding one ply stationary and unwrapping the other ply therefrom or to untwist both ends of the cord until the three were parallel or to untwist by rotating one end and holding the other end. In each of these instances altho the twist may be counted the single cord which remains is either untwisted or the twist built up therein so that it is not in the natural state in which it lies in the cord. A further analysis of this single ply is thus detrimentally affected in that the determination will not be accurate and in order that this undesirable result may be eliminated I rotate both ends of the core and hold two of the plies so that as the rotation proceeds these two plies are unwrapped from the third ply and by reason of the rotation of the third ply at both of its ends in unison, it is maintained in the condition that it is in the cord without change and without twist being built up or taken out of it and I may similarly examine the twist in this single ply by analyzing the threads, usually five in number which go to make up the single ply; and in order that the operation may proceed without kinking, I provide for taking up the elongation of the cord by increasing the distance between the gripping jaws by a constant tension for moving the head; and the following is a more detailed description of the apparatus which embodies the new method by which I carry out my conception of this new method for analyzing twisted cords.

With reference to the drawings, Il] designates the base of the twist counter upon which there is mounted a head Il and a second head l2. A jaw i3 is secured to the end of shaft I6 which is rotatably mounted in bearings M and l5 in the head. This shaft l@ has mounted thereon a gear I 'l which is driven by a gear I 8 mounted upon the drive shaft I9 and rotated by a handle 20.

The opposite head I2 is provided with bearings 2| and 22 thru which there slidably extends a shaft 23 which has a gripping jaw 24 provided on one end thereof. This shaft is provided with a sleeve 25 positioned between the bearings 2l and 22 and has a pin 26 extending thru a slot 21 in the shaft 23 to key it to the sleeve altho permitting a sliding movement of the shaft thru the sleeve. This sleeve is driven by a gear 28 mounted thereon and rotated by gear 29 fixed on the drive shaft I9 which has bearings in the head I2. 'Ihus upon turning the handle 20 the shaft I9 will rotate and this rotary movement will be transmitted to the jaws I3 and 24 which are arranged to rotate in unison and at the same speed.

In order that the number of rotations may be known the shaft I6 is provided with a threaded or worm section 30 which engages with the teeth of gear 3| rotatably mounted on a headed pin Sie so as to turn the gear as rotation proceeds. A pointer 32 is fixed upon the head and extends over a dial 33 fixed to the gear and suitably graduated so that when the gear 3| rotates the dial will be similarly rotated and by observing the space traveled by the dial the number of rotations may be determined from observation thereof.

This dial 33 is clamped to the hub 34 of the gear 3| by means of a bolt 35 having a flange 36 and thumb screw 31, whereby this dial may be adjusted relatively to the gear 3| so that any desired position may be obtained. There is also pivoted upon the dial a gear 38 and at each revolution of the dial one of the teeth of this gear engages a nger 39 to turn it so as to cause a progressively higher digit to be positioned for observation in the space 49 on the dial so that the number of revolutions of the dial may be accurately counted, each digit being on one of the teeth of the gear. A retarding friction member 4| consisting of a face block to engage the edge of the gear is forced into engagement with the gear by a spring 42 so as to better control the movement of the gear.

The jaws I3 and 24 are illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 8, in which two jaw members 45 and 46 are recessed as` at 41, to receive a spring 48 which tends to move the jaws apart. Extending thru each recess there is a bolt 49 threaded in one of the jaws 46 and nding a smooth bearing in the other jaw 45 and also provided with a head or handle 50 having a shoulder 5| by which it may be readily rotated to draw the jaws together. These jaws are guided by pins 52 and 53 and are provided with a hook 54 over which the cord to be rotated is trained.

A cord of a predetermined length such as one foot or two feet is clamped between two jaws I3 and 24, which cord is designated as a whole 55 and made up of plies` 56, 51 and 58. The plies 51 and 58 are severed and held in the hand while both jaws are rotated in unison to unwrap the two plies 51 and 58 from the ply 56. The number of rotations necessary for unwrapping the length of the cord will be observed upon the dial 33 after which the plies 51, 58 will be cut from position leaving the ply 56 in the condition in which it is in the cord before untwisting, after which ply 56 consisting of ve single threads 69, 6|, 62, 63, 64 may be further analyzed. For analysis of the ply 56, the singles 6| to 64 will be severed to be held in the hand while both ends of the ply will be rotated to unwrap them from the thread 6U, the number of rotations will be observed upon the dial while the thread 60 will remain in the condition which it would remain in the cord were no twist built up therein. This thread 6U may be further analyzed if desired.

As the unwrapping of the different plies or the different threads forming one ply proceeds, the ply or thread remaining will elongate and in order that this elongation may be taken up and tension maintained on the cord, I have provided some means of pulling upon the slidable shaft 23 to move it thru its bearings 2| and 22 in the head l2 and as a convenient means for applying such tension, I have provided a weight 65 and a cord 66 extending over a pulley 61 to engage a swivel hook 68 mounted on the end of shaft 23 to cause this shaft to slide thru its bearings and take up any elongation of the cord, and in order that the amount of elongation may be known I have graduated the shaft 23, as at 69, so that by comparative observation may be known the amount of elongation which occurs.

It is frequently desirable to enlarge the visual appearance of the cord thru suitable magnification and in order to accomplish this I have provided a bracket 10 having flanges 1I and 12 which are clamped to the base IIJ, such as by thumb screws 13 and set screw 14. This bracket has a raised central portion 15 which is provided with a slot 16 in which a bar 11 is slidably mounted. A pair of ears 18 extend upwardly from the bracket 10 at the back thereof and between these ears there is a shaft 80 which pivotally mounts an arm 19 which has a boss 8| on either side and which is also provided with a pair of abutments 82 to receive between them a pin 83 secured to the bar 11. An arm 84 extends from the pivoted end of the arm 19 in which a thumb screw 85 is mounted and which serves as an adjustable stop to accurately position the arm. At the forward side of the bracket 10, there are a pair of ears 86 between which a shaft 88 extends to pivotally mount a handle 81. This handle is notched as at 89 to receive a pin 90 also secured to the bar 11, thus by swinging the handle in one direction the bar 11 is moved to one position while swinging the arm in the opposite direction or inwardly with reference to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6, will cause the arm 19 to move as indicated in dotted lines, in Fig. 6.

On the upper end of the arm 19, there is mounted a rod 9| upon which a series of clamps 92 are positioned, each adjusted and held in clamped position by a thumb screw 93. In these clamps there are suitably mounted plano convex lenses which are positioned in close proximity and properly focused with reference to the cord so that this cord may be enlarged in appearance. These lenses are adjustable together by means of a thumb screw 95 securing the rod 9| in position or may be individually adjustable by the clamps for each of the lenses 94.

The foregoing description is directed towards the method and construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the equivalent changes to which the construction and method are susceptible, the invention being dened and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cord twist counter comprising a pair of rotatable heads, means for gripping a cord in each head, means for rotating both heads in unison while holding one or more of the plies of the cord, and means driven by one of the heads for mechanically counting the number of rotations necessary to effect untwisting.

2. A cord twist counter comprising a pair of rotatable heads, means for gripping a cord in each head, one of said heads being relatively movable towards and from the other head, means for rotating both heads in unison while holding one or more of the plies of the cord, means for exerting a Constant force on said movable head to move it with reference to the driving means and maintain a tension on the cord, means on one head and connected to the 4driving means for indicating the number of rotations of said head necessary to eiTect untwisting, and means on the other head to indicate the amount of movement of elongation of said cord.

3. A cord twist counter comprising a base, a pair of fixed supports mounted in spaced relation with each other on said base, a rotatable head mounted in each of said supports, one 0f said heads being relatively movable toward and from the other head, clamping members in each of said heads for gripping the ends of a length of cord disposed between the heads, means for rotating both heads in unison while holding one ply of cord therebetween to rotate the same without changing its relation from the existing number of turns in the plies, and an indicating device driven by one of said heads for indicating the number of revolutions thereof necessary to effect untwisting of the cord, said indicator comprising a rotatable dial, gearing for rotating the dial and connectible with said head driving means, and means associated with said gearing to register the number of revolutions of said dial.

JAMES M. SCOTT. 

